Under the Red Hood
by The Ethereal Blade
Summary: The last thing Harry Potter expected when he went on his Las Vegas vacation was to wake up married to a girl he only met the night before, but he's in for a big surprise if he thinks that's the only twist he has in his future. Despite what he thinks, his destiny isn't over. It's only just begun. Response to "Harry Potter's Vegas Vacation" by Blood Brandy. Harry/Dinah
1. Consequences of a Vegas Vacation

Summary: The last thing Harry Potter expected when he went on his Las Vegas vacation was to wake up married to a girl he only met the night before, but he's in for a big surprise if he thinks that's the only twist he has in his future. Despite what he thinks, his destiny isn't over. It's only just begun.

Pairing: Harry Potter/Dinah Lance (Black Canary)

Warnings: This story is rated M for the most part, but there will be MA scenes in it. Before and after each scene, I will put up warnings in case someone wishes to skip them.

Notes: Refer to the author's note at the bottom of the chapter. It would be too long to put before the chapter. Long story short, this is my response to Blood Brandy's Vegas Vacation Challenge and is slightly AU.

* * *

**1. Consequences of a Vegas Vacation**

Over the last seven years, Harry Potter had experienced things that prepared him for a variety of situations. But his current situation was not one of them.

Groggily waking up with a pounding headache in an unfamiliar room with no recollection of how he got there was not something he had ever experienced before.

Looking around as best as he could without actually sitting up, he saw what he appeared to be a very nice hotel room. _Very nice_ seemed to be a bit of an understatement, actually. _Above five star_ seemed more appropriate.

It definitely was not the hotel room that Remus had booked for him.

In celebration of his eighteenth birthday, Remus had decided to take him on a vacation to Las Vegas, Nevada. He had claimed that it was what Sirius had planned on doing, though he could not exactly do it after he died.

Though Remus said that he was taking Harry away to honor Sirius, Harry had known better.

After Voldemort's death, Harry had been plagued with problems. He never really had a childhood thanks to the dark wizard, and the majority of his time at Hogwarts was spent preparing him to deal with Voldemort. With that chapter of his life closed, he honestly had no idea what he wanted to do with his life, yet the wizarding population of England still looked to him to fix their problems.

While Harry was more than willing to save someone that was in need, the wizarding world did not need him. No, they were just trying to find someone else to solve their problems. As it was, Voldemort was the product of their problems, and he had no doubt that another like him would rise up and take his place if people did not at least try to change.

But it was not Harry's responsibility to change everyone's perceptions. As far as he was concerned, they needed to stand on their own two feet.

As a result of that, Harry had become somewhat of a recluse in the nearly three months since the Battle of Hogwarts. It did not help that Hermione and Ron had left England to find the former's parents in Australia, Ginny had apparently moved on while he was hunting the horcruxes down, and most of the people that he encountered since the battle only saw him as the _Man-Who-Conquered_. He was reminded how horrible fangirls were because of that.

Closing his eyes, he tried to remember what exactly had happened since he arrived in Las Vegas.

Something serious must have happened the previous night.

After all, he had just woken with blurry memories of the previous night and a pounding hangover in an unfamiliar room. To make matters worse, he was completely naked with the sole exception of a simple wedding ring on his finger.

In addition to that, he could hear the sound of the shower running.

Looking around more intently, he saw his socks, jeans, boxers, and t-shirt strewn across the floor. Quickly slipping out of bed, he started to get dressed in his clothes from the night before. The smell of alcohol on his clothes was surprisingly strong, and it jogged his memory to some extent.

He could remember going to a casino with Remus and Tonks after they arrived in Vegas. He had a little luck with the slot machines and won a couple thousand dollars, but it was not too much fun, so he had made his way to the bar. Thanks to the Confundus Charm on his ID, the bartender had not realized that he was only eighteen years old.

While at the bar, he had met an attractive brunette by the name if Dinah. Apparently she was an out-of-work journalist.

After that, his memory was incredibly blurry again.

Once he finished getting dressed, Harry took his mokeskin pouch out of his picket and pulled his wand out of it. With a non-verbal spell, he removed the scent of alcohol from his clothes and made them look as though they had just been cleaned. With the task done, he stowed his wand away in the pouch and hung it around his neck before slipping it under his shirt.

At that moment, Harry was very glad that he had put some effort into learning Occlumency. It made headaches, and apparently hangovers, much easier to deal with, though that was not what the art was meant for.

Now that he was dressed and somewhat clean, Harry started looking for some sign of how he had gotten there. An envelope on the nearby table caught his attention rather quickly.

Opening it and removing its contents, a feeling of dread washed over him. It was a marriage certificate. According to it, Harry James Potter and Dinah Laurel Lance were married.

"Bloody hell," he muttered under his breath.

"It's good to see you're awake."

The voice brought his attention to the bathroom door. He had not even realized that the shower had stopped running. Clad in a bathrobe, Harry saw the brunette he had met the previous night, who was also apparently his wife.

Harry could not help but look nervous at that moment, earning a smile from the woman. While he might not have liked that he woke up and found out that he was married to a woman he had only met the day before, it was definitely not one of the worst situations he had ever found himself in. Really, he felt more embarrassed than anything.

"I'm amazed you woke up today. Most people would have gotten alcohol poison from the number of beers you drank last night."

"I can't remember anything after meeting you," Harry said, looking rather sheepish.

"I can believe that. I've never seen a single person drink that much before," she said, shaking her head. "You were mostly sober when we met, though, and you were only a little intoxicated when we got married."

"We really did get married?" Harry asked, looking at the marriage certificate again. Surprisingly, he noticed Remus Lupin's signature on the certificate. Apparently, he had been a witness.

Why exactly Lupin, the most logical of the Marauders, decided to help him have a Vegas wedding was a little beyond him.

"You were charming, fun to be around, and made me feel a little more complete just by being around. I don't think I could have said no even if I wanted to," Dinah told him honestly. "We had a traditional Vegas wedding too, Elvis impersonator and all." She let out a small laugh at the memory, not that Harry could blame her. The thought of being married by an Elvis impersonator was almost enough to make him laugh as well.

He could not deny that he was flatter by what she said, in addition to being somewhat amused, but had a serious question that he felt needed to be answered. "Was that really enough to make you want to marry me?"

"It was a _in the heat of the moment_ type of thing, to be honest," she told him, looking a little embarrassed. "I'll admit that I panicked when I woke up in bed with you and remembered what happened, but I don't actually regret it. I enjoyed our time together and think that things could work out between us."

Hearing her admit to that actually made Harry feel more relaxed than he had been since he first woke up. It really did seem like it was pretty innocent. He must have drank enough to lose some of his inhibitions, while set the whole thing in motion.

Thinking back on the unlikelihood of finding someone that was interested in him for who he was rather than for his role in the conflict with Voldemort, he was starting to think that it might not be that bad of a situation after all.

"I'm willing to give it a try too then," Harry told her, making her let out a soft sigh. Apparently, she had been a little nervous about it.

She did not address that as she began to speak, however.

"After we got married, we went back to the casino where we met, and you started playing blackjack. After you won something like ten million dollars, they kicked us out, not that it mattered. You just took my hand and led me to another casino, where the same thing happened after you won twenty million. The casino after that didn't kick us out though. Instead, they just gave us a complementary room and asked us to retire for the night. You were pretty drunk at that point, though you were definitely able to give me a wedding night."

She actually seemed to shudder as she finished speaking, a barely noticeable blush on her cheeks.

"I wish I could remember all of that," Harry said, shaking his head. From the sounds of it, he had enjoyed himself. He had only really had one girlfriend in the past, unless the single date with Cho counted, but nothing too serious had happened between him and Ginny. He thought he might have come to love her, though the reverse was apparently not true.

"Maybe if you're lucky, you'll get an encore tonight," she told him with a mischievous look in her eyes that sent a shiver down his spine.

"If you're going to be my wife, there are a few things I need to talk to you about first," Harry said, growing serious. If he was going to go along with the situation, it seemed only fair that he talk things over with her.

His words seemed to surprise her. "I wasn't even tipsy when I agreed to marry you. It might have been a sudden decision, but I knew what I was doing and am willing to give it a shot."

Harry could not read a person's mind. The only minds he had ever seen in such a way belonged to Voldemort and Snape. The former had been a result of the horcrux that linked them, while the latter happened in his Occumency lessons with the professor.

That said, he was able to tell if someone was behind honest by looking them in the eyes. He had always been good at making analytical observations, after all.

After looking her in the eyes, he honestly believed that she was telling the truth.

"You say that now, but there are a lot of things you don't know about me," Harry told her.

"Are you married? After last night's performance, I highly doubt you're gay," Dinah asked, making him sputter.

"Before I got married to you, I didn't even have a girlfriend, and I can assure you I am in no way attracted to anyone but girls," Harry told her, shaking his head vehemently. "No, I was referring to something that you'd never guess. I'm a wizard."

Those words made Dinah arch an eyebrow in a mixture of surprise and disbelief.

"A wizard?"

Rather than answer her with words, he reached into his shirt and removed his wand from his mokeskin pouch again.

With a simple swish and flick of his wand, he lifted her into the air with the Levitation Charm.

"You're not kidding," she said in surprise as she was lifted a few feet into the air. She definitely looked nervous at that experience, but she stayed calm at the same time. "I don't know what I'm so surprised to find out that magic's real. I should have expected it, really."

It was a more mild reaction than he had expected, though that was not necessarily a bad thing.

"Why's that?" he asked curiously as he gently set her down and canceled the spell.

"I've met super-powered humans and a couple aliens. Magic doesn't seem so farfetched when you think about that."

Now it was Harry's turn to quirk an eyebrow. "Aliens and super-powered humans?"

"I'd tell you more, but those aren't really my secrets to tell. Well, most of them aren't. I can tell you about me though," she told him. "I'm a super-powered human, or metahuman I suppose. I'm a second generation metahuman, actually. I inherited my ability from my mother."

"Can you show me?" Harry asked curiously. "Not that I don't believe you. I'd just like to see it."

"This isn't the best place for me to use it," she told him with a slight frown. "I'd show you mine since you showed me yours, but I'd hate to make you have to pay to have the room fixed. My ability can be a little destructive."

"I can fix whatever you break if you want to show me," Harry told her. "I can do that with a spell."

That seemed to please Dinah.

"Watch this then," she told him as she faced one of the windows and cleared her throat. Suddenly, she let out a screeching noise, and he actually saw waves of air rush from her mouth to the window. They hit the window and shattered it.

"I can produce subsonic screams just as easily as most people can yell," she told him, smirking a little at his shocked expression.

"Sound waves that can shatter glass," Harry said, letting out a little whistle. He removed his wand and repaired the shattered window once he regained his wits.

"I call it my _Canary Cry_," she told him. "It can destroy arrows, shatter windows, and even render a man unconscious. I'm still not as good with it as my mother was though."

"My abilities come from my parents too," Harry told her in return. "If you want to learn more about the Wizarding World, I should probably get a hold of Remus though. He was my professor one year and he could probably explain everything you could ever want to know without too much difficulty."

"Remus… I remember him. He was the one that you brought with us to the chapel last night. He was pretty drunk by the time we got married. I didn't see him after that though."

"I think I know how to get a hold of him," Harry said before slipping his hand inside his mokeskin pouch and removing his communicator mirror from it. It was created by Remus shortly after the Second Wizarding War ended so that they could keep in contact. Harry was Moony's last connection to James and Sirius, while he was Harry's last connection to the same people, so having another way to communicate was useful.

After a couple minutes, Harry saw Remus appear in the mirror looking worse for wear.

"Harry, it's good to see you," Remus said with a tone of distinct relief. "When I woke up earlier with no memory of where I had been last night and couldn't find you, I got worried. From what I can piece together, I drank a little too much last night and blacked out. It looks like Dora's the one that took me back to the hotel room, actually. She apparently wanted to surprise me by showing up unexpected.

"You're not the only one who can't fully remember it," Harry told him. "Anyways, I'll fill you in on everything when we get back to the hotel."

"We?" Remus asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Yeah, apparently I got married last night. I'll tell you about it in a little bit," Harry said before deactivating the mirror and putting it away in his mokeskin pouch before Remus could try to call him back.

"Nice way to break the news," Dinah said with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"I figured it wouldn't be very nice to wait until we got there before I told him anything," Harry told her innocently, earning a small laugh from her. "Let's get everything together and head out of here so I can introduce you to Remus and Tonks."

She decided not to mention the fact that she already met Remus since he was so drunk when they actually met. There was no point in arguing about it, after all.

* * *

It did not take long to pack up and leave the casino resort where Harry got the complimentary room. The only belongings that they had taken with them there were the clothes they had been wearing, the marriage certificate, and a number of large duffel bags that contained a total of fifty million dollars.

Thankfully, magic enabled Harry to put all of the money in a single bag, shrink the bag, and then put it inside his mokeskin pouch.

Dinah had actually been surprised to see how he did not even react to learning that he had won so much money, and his explanation surprised her even more. While he actually was surprised that he won so much, he did not react simply because money was not something he gave much thought to. Even after he lost half of his fortune paying Gringotts reparations for forcefully breaking out of the bank with a dragon, he was still a billionaire in the Wizarding World. Last he heard, the exchange rate from Galleons to dollars meant that he was roughly ten times as rich in the muggle world.

But now the pair were entering the hotel room where Remus had books for them previously. It was a nice two bedroom suite, though not nearly as nice as the room where they had woken up earlier.

"Wotcher Harry," Tonks greeted as she opened the door to let them in. She seemed to be in a good mood if her pink hair and cheerful disposition were taken in account.

"Good to see you Tonks," Harry greeted, giving her a hug. "Tonks, this is Dinah. Apparently, we got married last night."

"I heard about that," she told him, looking a little too amused. She turned to Dinah with a smile. "It's nice to meet you. You can call me Dora or Tonks. I'm married to Remus and Harry is my son's godfather."

Dinah's posture grew more relaxed upon hearing that, a fact that did not escape Harry's attention.

"How old is he?" she asked curiously, making Tonks smile brightly.

"He'll be four months old this month," Tonks answered before taking a picture out of her pocket and showing it to her. Apparently, it was taken using a muggle camera and had not been developed in the solution that would cause the picture to move, which made it ideal to show to people that either did not know about magic or were unfamiliar with it.

"So Tonks, what brought you to Vegas?" Harry asked, distracting the former auror for a moment.

"Mum agreed to watch Teddy for me and said I should join you and Remus on your little vacation. I decided to do just that. Plus, I think she needed some one-on-one time with her grandson," she explained before pausing. "Oh and Harry, Remus asked me to send you to the other room when you showed up. I'm just going to get to know your wife in the meantime."

"I better go talk to him then," Harry said, making his way to the other room. He was definitely glad to see that Dinah and Tonks were starting to get along already.

Upon entering the other room, Harry saw that Remus did not even look as though he had been drunk the previous night. There was no sign of a hangover or other telltale markers of anything out of the ordinary on him. Harry knew that he recovered quickly though. One of the few perks to being a werewolf.

"Married?" Remus asked once he shot the door. Unlike Tonks, he did not seem very amused at all. "I can't believe you actually got married last night."

"Apparently, I wasn't even drunk at the time. I only drank a little bit from what Dinah says, though you were another story. You were pretty drunk at the wedding. It doesn't really matter though. We decided to give it a shot."

"It's a bit more serious than you think," Remus said as he walked over to him and took the marriage certificate out of his hands. "You don't know this because you weren't raised by magical parents, but in the Wizarding World, the only ways out of a marriage are death and a breach of contract. And I'm experienced enough with magic to recognize that this marriage certificate is actually a magical contract."

Those were not words that Harry wanted to hear.

"A magical contract?" he asked nervously. The last one of those that he was involved in resulted in him having to out fly a dragon, grow gills, fight his way through a maze of monsters, and then watch as a Voldemort regained his body. As a result, magical contracts were not something I generally liked.

"I should have warned you ahead of time, but I didn't think you'd actually do it. You just had to go to the only chapel in Las Vegas that is run by a wizard. It is where wizards who want to elope in Vegas go to get married at. Like the Leaky Cauldron, only wizards and witches can actually find it, so they always use magical contracts. Fortunately, this one is pretty mild. But at the same time, it is the most difficult one to break. Simply put, all this contract ensures is that you will take her as your wife until one of you dies. There is nothing that could be done to cause a breach of contract."

Apparently, they had no choice but to try to make their relationship work after all. It was a good thing that they already decided to try.

"But if it's a magical contract, wouldn't I be the only one bound by it?" Harry asked suddenly.

"That isn't how magical contracts work. The contract will draw upon the magic of both parties to ensure that it upheld. If only one person has magic, that person's magic binds both to the contract. Your magic will ensure that neither of you can break the contract. If you try to think about getting divorced, you'll find that you are plagued with doubts about the very idea. You will be compelled to stay as her husband because of the magic. That being said, it will not make you two love, or even like, each other. You don't even have to see her ever again and the contract will still be fulfilled so long as your are together officially."

"Didn't you say that they can be ended by a breach of contract? But if the contract compels you to obey it…." He really did not like the idea of being compelled to do something against his wishes, but it seemed that he did not have a choice. The only good thing was that he had already made his decision before finding that out, and he did not feel compelled to do anything when he made the decision to try to make things work.

"A contract has to be written with the provisions that if something happens or doesn't happen, the marriage is to be dissolved. Yours has no such terms."

"Then I guess I have to make the best of it," Harry said as he took the piece of paper back from Remus, eyeing it warily.

"I'm sorry for getting carried away. If I had stayed sober and actually tried to be a proper chaperone, this wouldn't have happened," Remus apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not as bothered as you think. I never really considered divorce in the first place. Besides, this might be for the best. Nothing happens without a reason, right?"

Remus nodded his head in agreement, though he still had a guilty look in his eyes.

"Anyways, I was hoping you could tell Dinah about the Wizarding World. You're a little better at teaching than I am. I do alright at practical lessons, but that isn't what she needs right now."

"I can do that," Remus said, straightening up. "What does she know so far?"

"Just that I'm a wizard, use a wand, and can levitate people," Harry answered. "The Statute of Secrecy doesn't apply to her since she's my wife, right?"

"The International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy doesn't apply at all on this continent," Remus corrected. "But even if we were in England, you could still tell her all about the Wizarding World since she is married to a wizard."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked suddenly, confused.

Remus knew what he was asking about the instant he opened his mouth.

"The International Statute of Secrecy is part of the charter that must be followed by every nation that is part of the International Confederation of Wizards. If they refuse to enforce the ICW's laws, a nation can be fined or even removed from the organization. In the grand scheme of things, being removed from the ICW would not really harm a nation, but it is considered to be very shameful all the same.

"That said, the ICW only has a presence in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The other continents have nothing to do with the ICW and never have. For the most part, they do not even forbid the usage of magic in front of mundane, as they prefer to call muggles. That is not to say that they openly show their true selves, however. It is a widely accepted fact that all wizards and witches should do their best not to expose their true nature to the public, but action is only taken under dire circumstances. Such as a wizard attempting to reveal the existence of the wizarding world."

That was rather surprising news to hear for him. It was odd to think that he could reveal that he was a wizard to the public as long as he did not reveal anything that truly put the Wizarding World in danger.

Not that he had any intention of revealing that he was a wizard to the public. The last thing he needed was that kind of attention.

"Anyways, I should go and talk to your wife before Dora gets carried away. I'll try to keep my explanations brief for now."

It was apparently a good thing that they decided to go into the other room when they did. As they walked in, they heard Tonks starting to ask how her wedding night went, though she thankfully stopped mid-question when she saw Harry.

* * *

Apparently, Remus considered a four hour conversation as a brief explanation. That was how long he spoke with Dinah, at least.

By the end of it, she knew the basics when it came to the Wizarding World, some recent history (though Remus managed to avoid saying who defeated Voldemort), and the details about their marriage certificate being a magical contract.

Like Harry, she was not pleased at the thought of being magically compelled to do anything, but she did not blame him for it. Seeing as how she was quite sober when they got married, she recognized that it was just as much her fault as his and that their rash decision was bound to have some consequences.

All things considered, she took the news rather well.

Once the explanations were over with, the two couples went their separate ways. The Vegas vacation was, for the most part, over. There were no plans for them to meet up again. Tonks had bluntly told them that she was considering the rest of the Vegas vacation as the honeymoon she never had, while Harry and Dinah wanted to get to know each other a little better.

Though Remus and Tonks planned on staying in Vegas for a week and then heading back to London, Harry and Dinah currently did not have any concrete plans.

But in life, things could change in a heartbeat.

* * *

Author's Note: This story is in response to Blood Brandy's Vegas Vacation Challenge.

Unlike the other examples of the challenge I've seen, the Second Wizarding War is over at the start of the story and Sirius Black did not fake his death. It suited my purposes better if Voldemort was already defeated and if Harry was a legal adult in the wizarding and muggles worlds.

In addition to that, this story is a crossover between Harry Potter and Smallville, but both of those two worlds are AU to an extent.

The Harry Potter series is pretty much canon up to Chapter 36 of the Deathly Hallows, meaning that the biggest changes are that I am disregarding the Epilogue and will not necessarily listen to content from Pottermore. Prior to Chapter 36 of the Deathly Hallows, there are only three real changes.

The first is that the timeline had been pushed forward by ten years. Every event in the Harry Potter universe (with the exception of real life events, like WWII) happened ten years later in this story. Thus, The First Wizard War started in 1980, Harry Potter was born in 1990, and The Second Wizarding War ran from 2005 to 2008. More information on the timeline can be found on the blog I set up for this story. A link can be found on my profile.

The second and third changes are, respectively, Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks surviving the final battle.

Smallville is almost completely canon up to the end of Season 8, Episode 1. There are a couple really minor changes that I've made, though those are to fix plot holes and continuity errors. After the story starts, things won't necessarily happen as they did in the canon series, but no one reads fanfiction to see things happen exactly as they did in canon.

Anyways, thanks for reading.


	2. Change of Plans

**2. Change of Plans**

After leaving the hotel following their conversation with Remus and Tonks, Harry and Dinah stopped by the hotel that she had stayed at to get her belongings, which were shrunk for easy carrying, and headed to get something to eat so that they could sit down and talk.

Along the way, Harry quickly noticed something peculiar though. Any time anyone so much as looked at her, Dinah appeared to get a little nervous.

He decided not to ask why she was reacting that way, but that did not mean that he simply stopped paying attention to it.

When they were only a few blocks away from the restaurant that Dinah had suggested, they heard a scream. To make matters worse, the air around them had grown cold.

Without even thinking, Harry rushed towards the source of the sound, and Dinah was not far behind him. It was strange actually finding someone that could nearly run as fast as he was. That was more than most could say, as Hermione and Ron could attest to.

At the sensation, Harry had actually believed that there was a dementor nearby, yet far enough away that he could not feel its true effects yet.

But apparently he was wrong.

The source of the scream appeared to be within a nearby bank, and he could actually see a man standing inside the bank wearing a strange suit of armor. The man's head was the only part of him that was exposed, and he was able to see that the man was bald with blue tinted skin.

But more interesting, Harry could see frost escaping his suit and he had some kind of gun that was hooked to his suit. From the looks of things, he had frozen a couple people solid using it.

"I don't have time to change into my suit," he heard Dinah mutter under her breath.

Though Harry would have rushed into the bank and knocked the guy out in the past, he knew the risks of doing something so publically without even wearing a disguise, and those risks made him pause.

It seemed that she was aware of those very risks too, and her statement gave Harry the impression that her _suit_ was really a _disguise_.

"I'll buy you some time then," Harry told her, looking around. He was not too skilled with wandless magic, but he was capable of reversing the spell that shrunk her suitcase using it. He tossed her shrunken suitcase into an alleyway before doing it though. He knew that Las Vegas had too many cameras around to do something too blatant where he could be seen, after all. "Go and suit up, or whatever it is you want to do."

"You don't seriously expect me to put you in danger just to buy me some time, do you?" she asked, concern clear in her eyes.

"I'm not in as much danger as you think," Harry told her matter-of-factly. "I'd rather avoid exposing myself, but I am quite capable of looking after myself."

Though she looked conflicted, she nodded her head and headed down the alley, grabbing the suitcase as she did.

Harry walked right into the bank without looking back.

"It's colder than that bloody lake in here," Harry muttered as he walked in, remembering his experience in the Black Lake all too well.

The man in the armored suit turned and looked at him in surprise.

"You should not have come," the man said as he pointed his frost gun at Harry. "Nosy interlopers like you get people killed."

Harry eyed him carefully, assessing the dangers that the man posed against him. He knew without a doubt that the man was dangerous, but he was not as dangerous as the people that Harry was used to opposing. Compared to Voldemort and his Death Eaters, the man barely ranked as a threat. As long as he did not get careless, the odds of him walking away relatively unharmed were above sixty percent. While those were not great odds to most people, they were incredible odds to Harry.

The most risky part of what he was going to do was that it could potentially put the bank's customers and employees in danger. Only the two security guards had been frozen. Excluding a teller that stood behind the counter nearly in tears, everyone else was lying on the ground.

"So, they're still alive?" he asked, looking towards a frozen security guard.

"For now," the man said as his finger reached the trigger.

"That's good to hear. In that case, I don't have to kick your ass as hard," Harry casually remarked.

With surprising speed, he left out of the way as a blast of frost shot towards him.

Using the same speed, he rushed forwards and punched the man in the face, supplementing the physical attack with a weak Banishing Charm. It was actually stronger than he expected and knocked the villain down.

He had only really started learning wandless magic over the past few weeks, so any success was a good thing in his opinion.

He was forced to jump to the side again as another blast of frost was shot at him.

Though he had been knocked down, his enemy appeared to be quite capable of using the gun even sitting down.

"That was a close one, Popsicle. I barely dodged it that time," Harry said in the most dramatic voice he could manage.

He knew that he needed to rile the man up and keep him distracted until Dinah showed up. The last thing he needed was for the guy to remember that there were other people in the room that he could use his gun on.

"I tire of your insolence. You threaten my Nora by wasting my time. I will show you why Gotham City fears Mr. Freeze."

"Nice monologue, but I'm not threatening anyone. I'm just being a good samaritan."

Those words seemed to anger the man even more, but he was unable to say anything further as everyone in the room heard a high pitched screech.

Harry was not even sure how she had managed it, but Dinah had managed to enter the bank and get behind Mr. Freeze. She then proceeded to use a more powerful version of her Canary Cry to send throw him towards Harry. Even before Harry side-stepped the flying man, he was already unconscious. Hairline fractures could be seen in the man's suit.

If not for the fact that Harry's glasses were spelled to be nearly unbreakable, he had a feeling that they would have been shattered. Yet, the frozen security guards did not seem to be affected at all. It seemed that she could narrow her Canary Cry so that it hit a specific target.

Looking at Dinah, Harry could not help but feel surprised.

If not for the fact that he had recognized her ability, he would never have realized that he was looking at Dinah. Her long brunette hair was gone, replaced by short blonde hair. Black make-up had been applied around her eyes to resemble a mask. In addition to that, she wore a long-sleeve black jacket with some yellow on it, black shorts, and black leather boots with some yellow on them.

"Thanks for saving the day," he said, letting out a soft whistle.

As if on cue, people began to stand up and thank her for saving them from Mr. Freeze.

During the affair, Harry had slipped out of the bank and applied a Disillusionment Charm on him.

Once he was effectively invisible, he re-entered the bank and began to free the frozen security guards. Turning ice to water was a simple enough transfiguration spell, but it was the only one that he knew of that could free them. He barely managed the task with his wand, but he still succeeded.

While he went about his task, he could not help but smile at seeing Dinah in her hero persona. It looked as though she was made for the position.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard his wife's voice.

"I'm sorry, but it is time for me to go," Dinah said. As she spoke, the sound of police sirens began to fill the area.

Though they seemed to wish that she would stay longer, everyone present looked at her gratefully.

It reminded him of the way people looked at him but severely toned down. They saw her as a hero.

It was strange to consider that she could be looked at as a hero in that moment and then change how she looked so radically that people only saw her as an attractive but normal woman.

In a way, she had the best of both world.

But more importantly, he saw an important facet of her character in that moment. She could have reveled in their praise and even saved the day as herself, but she did not seem to be in it for the glory or praise. She did look a little proud when she heard the praise, but even he felt a little pride when someone praised him.

Harry followed Dinah away from the bank and found her just as she reached her suitcase in a place where it was unlikely that anyone would see them.

"So, what do they call you?" Harry asked as he became visible.

She looked startled by his sudden approach, not having sensed him before that moment.

Once she recovered from her shock, she answered, "Black Canary."

"Fitting," Harry told her, and he was not joking in the slightest. "Well, what do you say you get changed and we get something to eat?"

"I'd like that, but you turn around while I get dressed."

He decided not to say anything about the fact that they had already slept together, were married, or that she had teased him quite a bit earlier, instead turning his back to her. It was only polite, after all.

A few minutes later, she was dressed in her regular clothes with her wig back on. Her suitcase had been shrunk once again and was in Harry's pocket.

"It might be best if we don't stay in town too much longer," she told him as they began to walk down the street. "There is someone out there that is aware of my identity. The whole reason that I came here in the first place was to lay low."

"And because you just made a public appearance and there were cameras, they will know that you came here?" Harry asked, making her look surprised. She simply nodded her head in confirmation.

"How would you like to take a trip to England?" Harry asked as they walked.

"They would know I was there," she pointed out. "I avoided flying after my identity was discovered because I could have been tracked."

"Don't worry about it so much," Harry told her. "I can get you there without anyone knowing that you even left the country. It is slightly illegal, but as long as we weren't caught, it wouldn't matter."

Dinah had a good feeling that whatever he was suggesting was only illegal in the magical world. Even if it was not, she likely would have accepted his offer. Getting away from Vegas was more important at the moment.

"After we get something to eat, we'll get out of here then. The trip won't last long, but I'd like to talk to you before we make it."

"Alright," she told him, nodding her head in acceptance. "Lead the way."

* * *

They did not end up going to the restaurant that Dinah had originally suggested, instead choosing to go to somewhere on the other end of town.

The restaurant was not exactly private, but a couple murmured spells allowed him to prevent anyone from overhearing what they said or even paying attention to them. It was not something he preferred to do at restaurants since it stopped waitresses from checking on him, but not having anything to drink was not as important as having a discussion with Dinah.

Fortunately, he had waited until their food had been placed on the table before he cast the spells though.

"I have more to tell you at the moment than you can tell me, so before I start talking, I'd like to hear more about why you're in hiding."

She let out a soft sigh when she heard his words. "I do owe you an explanation, but there are details that I can't tell you because it would mean betraying my friends' trust."

"Then tell me what you can," Harry said, placing a reassuring hand on top of hers. "I'm not asking you to break their confidence, but I need to know exactly what you've got yourself involved in."

She began to tell him her story at that point.

Apparently, she had been hired by a man named Lex Luthor to stop a group of individuals from stealing information from him in the early months of the year. During the course of the job, she had learned that he was just using her to recover information that could cause serious harm to innocent people, so she ended up joining that group of individuals.

She did not tell him the names of those individuals, only saying that they went by the code names of Green Arrow, Impulse, Cyborg, and Aquaman.

In June, her secret identity, along with that of Aquaman, was compromised. As a result, Tess Mercer, the current CEO of Luthorcorp, knew who they really were. Because of that, they were forced to go into hiding. Despite their secret identities remaining secret, Green Arrow, Impulse, and Cyborg were also laying low just to be safe.

Harry was well aware that she only told him the basics, but he understood her desire to keep secrets. He had no intention of revealing all of her secrets to her either. But she did need to know some details.

"I have some business I need to take care of back home, so leaving the country and keeping a low profile for a little while won't be a problem. But if we are going back there, there's something about me that you really need to know."

"Like what?" she asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Remember what Remus told you about the First and Second Wizarding Wars?" Harry asked, growing serious.

"Yeah, they were instigated by someone who called himself Lord Voldemort. Both wars ended as a result of one of his spells rebounding and vanquishing him, though only the second time was permanent," Dinah said, summing up what she had been told.

"You were told very little about what really happened in the wars… not that you weren't told the truth. You just didn't hear the whole truth," Harry told her with a slight frown. "Eighteen years old, a child was born to two loving parents. Unfortunately, the circumstances of his birth marked him as _the Chosen One_, the child that was prophesized to vanquish Lord Voldemort. The leaders of both sides of the war knew that too, and so Voldemort chose to kill the child before he could grow up and vanquish him. Though both of the child's parents died, Voldemort failed to kill him. His mother sacrificed her life to place a special protective spell on him, causing Voldemort's spell to rebound and vanquish him for a time."

Dinah looked enthralled by the tale. She actually appeared as though she wanted to ask questions, but she held her tongue in favor of listening.

"Eleven years later, that child started attending a school for wizards and witches. In the six years that followed that, he had encounters with Voldemort and his servants. In his fourth year, Voldemort regained his body. In his fifth year, the Second Wizarding War officially began. And in his sixth year, the Leader of the Light, the one man that had been considered Voldemort's equal, was murdered. He did not attend the school for his seventh year, instead beginning on a quest that would end Voldemort. In May of this year, he succeeded. Voldemort was defeated in the Battle of Hogwarts, and the Second Wizarding War came to an end."

She knew that he had skipped so much in that brief summarization, but Dinah remained patient. She had a suspicion of why he had told her all of that, despite how much she hoped that she was wrong.

"That boy's name was Harry Potter."

It seemed that she had been correct.

From what he was saying, he had been the reason that both wars had come to an end. She could not even begin to fathom how strong if he had actually managed it too.

"I am not a hero," Harry told her, easily figuring out what she was thinking. "He was defeated the first time because my mother was cunning, and he was defeated the second time because the Leader of the Light, Albus Dumbledore, was a genius. A bit of a bastard, but a genius. He manipulated things so well that it appeared as though I was the one to defeat Voldemort in spite of my incompetence."

The aggravation in his eyes completely caught Dinah off guard.

"If I had fought Voldemort head-on, he would have easily killed me. Even with Dumbledore's manipulations, I only survived because of luck."

If not for the fact that he had become the true owner of the Elder Wand, he had no doubt that Voldemort would have killed him. Voldemort would have still died that day, but it would have been a joint effort of everyone that he had fought alongside of at the Battle of Hogwarts.

"Even if he manipulated you, you couldn't have succeeded without at least some skill," Dinah pointed out, shaking her head.

"It didn't take nearly as much skill as you might think," Harry told her. "Don't get the wrong impression though. I really do respect the man, even if he did manipulate me like he did. Without him, I'm sure the casualties would have been worse. That doesn't mean I particularly like him though."

Six months ago, he would never have said that. He had nearly worshipped the man, but he had come to see things a little differently since Voldemort's defeat and he had time to think. Apparently, Aberforth Dumbledore really did know his brother better than any other.

"That doesn't really matter," Harry said, shaking his head. "What matters is that the Wizarding World doesn't see me like just another person. They look at me and see a hero… a savior. While it's bloody annoying as hell, it is pretty harmless. For me, at least. Things may be a bit different for you, however."

"Am I in danger?" she asked calmly. She was not worried in the least, apparently.

"Maybe. Some girls will be jealous of you, and that may try to act on that jealousy. Being my wife would be a symbol of status to most witches, and I am very wealthy. Without either of those, this problem wouldn't exist," Harry told her honestly. "I don't plan on spending too much time in the public eye, so as long as we stay together while we are in public, it shouldn't be a problem at all. I know it's not fun to have to stay around someone anytime you're in public, but-"

"I don't mind having to stay around you… provided you don't try to be overprotective. I'm not familiar with your world, so it's only natural I'd choose to stick around my tour guide. I'll trust you when it comes to this, but don't expect me to be subservient. I will listen to you, but I'm a big girl and can handle myself."

"Agreed," Harry said, nodding his head in understanding. He had told her that he could look after himself and expected her to believe him, so it was only logical that he was expected to do the same thing.

"So is there anything else I should know before we leave?" Dinah asked, pushing her mostly empty plate forward.

"Probably, but it can wait. We don't have to leave my place for a few days. I'm not even expected back for another week," Harry told her as he pushed his plate away as well.

"How how exactly are we going to get to England?" Dinah asked, apparently satisfied by the previous answer.

"Portkey," Harry answered with a mischievous look in his eyes.

Though she had no idea what that meant, she had a good feeling that she was going to find out and then wish that she never had the experience.

Just a few minutes later, the pair left the restaurant and ducked into a dark alley.

Once they were sure that they were out of sight, Harry pointed his wand at an empty soda can and muttered, "Portus."

On the count of three, the pair touched the can and were whisked away to Harry's residence in London.

* * *

Author's Note: The first chapter didn't get as great of a reception as I had hoped, but that could just be because of how often this challenge is attempted without it getting past the first chapter or two. So I thought I'd go against my normal rules and update this story now. I'd normally wait until it had at least ten reviews, which is why I haven't updated despite having finished the second chapter within 24 hours of posting the story, but it does me no good just sitting on my computer.

I'll also admit that I was starting to forget that I hadn't updated yet. It was only the email I received from the site about the character additions that I requested be added to the Smallville filter (which has added Batman, Nightwing, Wonder Woman, and a few other characters) that reminded me that I hadn't posted this yet.

Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing.


	3. Transitions

**3. Transitions**

_London, England  
August 1, 2008_

Harry was once against reminded of the reason he hated traveling by portkey when he found himself falling to the ground upon arriving at Grimmauld Place. It did not help matters that Dinah had managed to land on top of him in the process.

It had not been a smooth landing for either one of them, as evidence by the glare that Dinah shot him when she rolled to the side and got to her feet. Fortunately, it did not appear that she was genuinely angry with him.

"Sorry 'bout that," Harry apologized sheepishly. "I guess I should've warned you." Not that it would have helped. If being prepared helped a great deal, he would not loathe portkeys as much as he did.

"Just warn me next time. And maybe we shouldn't eat before we do that again," Dinah said, appearing to have some difficulties keeping her food down. "Where are we anyways?"

"We're in London," Harry answered. "This is the ancestral home of the House of Black. I inherited it from my godfather when he passed away."

He was careful to keep his tone neutral. There was no reason to make things too tense.

"Are you serious?" she asked him, clearly surprised. Apparently, she had not realized that he was being serious when he said that it would not take long.

"Yeah, portkeys and apparition are pretty much near instantaneous. Flying is the only type of magical transportation that isn't, really."

"Flying?" Dinah asked, appearing to be even more surprised.

Apparently, that was another thing that she had not yet been told about.

"Well, there have only been two wizards that could fly on their own, but the rest of us can use other things- mainly brooms."

"Right," Dinah said, nodding her head, unsure about the entire situation.

"I'll show you around in the morning. I'd do it now, but even if it didn't take long to get here, we're still in a different time zone." That was a bit of an understatement, actually. There was a seven hour time difference, so it was past midnight.

"I'm looking forward to it. I can wait until tomorrow," she told him. "But for now, can you show me where I can take a bath. If we're going to go to bed, I want to relax a little first."

"Yeah, I'll show you where it is and find you a room."

"I'll just sleep with you tonight."

Her words were met with silence, along with an unmistakable blush.

"Not like that," she said with a laugh. "Not that I'd complain, but I'd like to find out a little more about you before we do that again."

Harry could not blame her in the least for wanting to do that, though he had a distinct feeling that she was also getting him back for not warning her before they used the portkey.

Shaking his head, he decided to just do as she asked. Though he would have liked nothing better than to end the night on a different tone, he could be patient. In all honesty, he liked the idea of getting to know her a little better before they were involved with each other in such a way. While he logically knew that they had already had sex, it was a little different now that he was sober.

Besides, they did have the rest of their lives ahead of them.

* * *

_London, England  
August 2, 2008_

Waking up in bed with an attractive woman was not an occurrence that Harry was used to, though it was only his second day to experience such a thing.

Despite Dinah's decision to wait a little while before they were intimate again, she had made things rather difficult for him when they went to bed the previous night. She had insisted that they sleep in the same bed, and she had opted to only wear a t-shirt and panties to bed.

As a result, he woke to find her pressed against him, the thin cloth covering her ass leaving little to the imagination.

He was quite thankful that he had woken up before her. Otherwise, his… situation… would have been somewhat awkward.

Carefully slipping his arm from its resting place around her waist, he rolled out of bed and started to get dressed.

According to the clock, it was not yet six o'clock in the morning. Despite only getting five hours of sleep, he felt fully rested. It was only when he found himself using magic frequently that he actually needed eight hours of sleep, but he had not needed to do that since he worked with Kreacher, Remus, and Tonks to repair Grimmauld Place.

Heading down the stairs wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt, he started to go over his plans for the day.

Before he actually went into public with Dinah, he really needed to introduce her to Andromeda and get the witch to make sure that they had not forgotten anything.

In addition to that, Harry had a few things that he needed to take care of. Most of them had something to do with his recent marriage, but there were a couple matters that he had intended to take care of even before he went on the Las Vegas vacation.

"Kreacher."

The single word was all that he needed to say. It called forth his old but loyal house elf in an instant.

"Yes Master," Kreacher said, looking at Harry with respect. The fake Slytherin Locket that he had given the elf back during the horcrux hunt could easily be seen hanging from Kreacher's neck.

"I need you to bring me the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone," Harry told Kreacher. As they still recognized him as their master, he had no doubt that the house elf that was bonded to him would be able to find them.

"Yes Master," Kreacher said before he disapparated.

Within three minutes, Kreacher appeared in front of him holding the two Deathly Hallows.

"Thank you Kreacher," Harry said as he took them and stowed them away within his mokeskin pouch. Recently, he had come to the conclusion that he was being naïve by placing two of the Deathly Hallows in such unprotected locations. He literally dropped one in the middle of the forest, while the other had been placed in the tomb of a previous owner. Neither could be considered good locations.

"Anything for you, Master," Kreacher said with reverence.

Harry just sighed. Despite hating being called _Master_, he knew that Kreacher would not stop using the title.

"There's been a change recently," Harry told the elf. "I ended up getting married when I was on vacation. That's why I'm back so early. She… is not magical. I trust you will treat her with respect all the same." There was no threat in his words, just a matter-of-fact statement.

"Of course Master," Kreacher agreed. "Mistress Dinah will be treated as the Lady Potter."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Kreacher's words but decided not to question it. He did not fully understand the nature of the bond between him and Kreacher in the first place.

"Also, do you know if Ron and Hermione are back yet?"

"They have not returned yet, Master," Kreacher answered immediately, shaking his head.

"That's fine. I didn't think they would have," Harry admitted, letting out a sigh. "It doesn't matter. Kreacher, I want you to stay hidden until you're asked to show yourself. I don't want Dinah to get spooked. Meeting a house elf for the first time can be… startling."

He could still remember his first encounter with Dobby.

Kreacher nodded his head before he snapped his fingers, disappearing from view.

With that conversation done with, he slipped on some shoes, threw a cloak over his form, and made his way to the fireplace. He needed to do one more thing before Dinah awoke.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, he found himself in the office of Ragnok, a high-ranking official of Gringotts and the account manager of several prominent families, including the House of Potter.

Ragnok was one of the only goblins in Gringotts that actually liked him. Breaking into Gringotts, stealing one of their guard dragons, and using it to wreck the lobby floor and the bank's roof had earned him a negative reputation among the goblins.

It was only thanks to the fact that he had paid one and a half billion galleons to the bank in reparations that ensured that he was still treated fairly. Given that the damages cost a third of what he paid them, Harry was of the opinion that they should have treated him better than _fairly_, but he was not going to voice that opinion anytime soon.

"It looks to be official," Ragnok said as he looked at the marriage certificate that Harry had placed on the goblin's desk.

"I'd like that registered with your bank," Harry told him. Though he was married, the magical world had no way of telling that he had actually been married. As such, it was common practice for witches and wizards that got married in muggle ceremonies to register their marriage through the Ministry of Magic or Gringotts. Both would submit the information to the ICW so that it could be compiled and distributed among the nations that had joined the ICW. He had chosen Gringotts to actually do it simply because it would ensure that the Ministry of Magic did not learn of the information too soon, which also delayed the Daily Prophet from learning about it.

"That can be done. But that isn't the only reason you are here, is it?" Ragnok asked with a knowing look in his eyes.

"You're right," Harry confirmed. "I need you to act on my behalf. Take care of a few things for me, and you'll get a ten percent commission."

"What do you need?" Ragnok asked with anticipation clear in his eyes.

"I thought about having you buy the Daily Prophet for me, but it's not really worth it. Instead, I'd like you to do a few other things for me." As he spoke, he removed a roll of parchment from his pocket and handed it to Ragnok.

Unrolling it, Ragnok began to read the list that Harry had written out for him.

When he was done, the goblin had wide eyes.

"What is it that you are planning?"

"Something that will change the future as we know it," Harry answered with a smile. "But that's not all that I want done. Everything on the list is connected, but this next part isn't."

That seemed to make the goblin even more curious.

"I have a few things that I'd like to have commissioned," Harry began.

It was at that moment that Ragnok realized exactly how profitable a business relationship with Harry Potter could be.

* * *

About an hour later, Harry arrived back at Grimmauld Place.

The discussion with Ragnok had gone over rather well, though whether the commissioned gear was actually made or not was still up in the air.

Putting up his cloak, Harry decided to start making breakfast for him and Dinah. While he could have had Kreacher do it for him, he preferred to do it himself sometimes. It was difficult to convince Kreacher of that at first, but as long as he let Kreacher handle the cooking most of the time, the old house elf was satisfied.

Just as he finished cooking, he saw Dinah walk into the kitchen wearing a set of casual clothes, along with her wig. He was not surprised that she had chosen to wear it, though it still felt odd seeing her wear it when he knew what she really looked like.

"How long have you been up?" she asked, surprised by the sight.

"A couple hours," Harry said with a shrug. "I had to take care of a couple things, and it was still pretty early, so I thought I'd get some breakfast ready."

"So you've already been out?" she asked.

"Yeah, I had some business at the bank, so I went while you were sleeping."

She just nodded her head in acceptance.

The pair sat down and ate breakfast at that point. It was a quiet and simple affair. Neither spoke a word as they ate, though it was not an awkward silence.

The silence did not last long after they finished breakfast though.

It was Dinah who spoke first. "Do you have a phone around here? I need to make a call sometime today."

He shook his head with an apologetic look. "Electronics tend to short out in wizarding homes. I don't understand it that well myself, but that's how it is."

Stunned silence was her response, and he completely understood it.

"The Wizarding World is probably two hundred years behind when it comes to technology. The most advanced technology that witches and wizards actually use would have to be the automobile, but few use anything newer than the eighties."

That was actually something that he intended to fix in the future, but that was not something he could do anything about just yet.

"As long as I don't use too much magic inside a house, it isn't a problem, so I'm not asking you to live like that," Harry said, realizing that she might have gotten the wrong impression. "I actually have a house more like what you're used to, but they've only just finished building it. It'll take a bit longer to get it furnished."

He had actually paid to have the house built two months earlier. It had already been warded, though the wards were fairly low-key so that they did not cause any problems.

"I can deal without electronics for a little while. I'm just not used to it," Dinah admitted. "I do need to get in touch with a friend though. They'll be worried if they think I just disappeared."

"That won't be a problem. I know Andromeda keeps a phone at her place, though she has to replace it once every few months. I wanted to introduce you to her anyways, so it works out."

"Andromeda?" Dinah asked curiously.

"Yeah, she's Teddy's grandmother. Tonks is her daughter."

Dinah looked interested to meet the woman at hearing that. Meeting the woman who raised someone as unique as Tonks was often an interesting experience.

* * *

_Metropolis, Kansas  
August 2, 2008_

Oliver Queen was just getting ready to leave his office for the day when his cell phone began to ring. His phone ringing was not an unusual occurrence in the least, but it surprised him to see that it was an international call. International calls to his personal phone were not all that common.

"Hello?" he asked as he answered the phone.

"Oliver, it's Laurel."

At that, he was not sure if he was more worried or relieved. Despite it not being the name he knew her by, he quickly put together that it was Dinah on the other end of the line. Using her middle name told him that she did not believe that it was a secure line. Though the question of how exactly Dinah managed to get out of the country was something that he was very curious about.

"Laurel, what's going on?" It was one of many questions that he would have liked to ask, but it seemed the most appropriate. There were some matters that he did not wish to discuss on an unsecure line either.

"I'm calling you from England to give you an update. I ran into a few complications and had to relocate."

"What kind of complications?" Oliver asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"I might have gotten married when I was in Sin City."

Oliver did not even know what to say when he heard those words.

"Married?"

"Yes, married," Dinah told him, and he could tell that she was rolling her eyes. "It happened in the heat of the moment, and you know how Vegas can be. We've decided to try to make things work though. Anyways, I'm just calling to let you know that I'm alright. If you need to get in touch, just call this number. It belongs to a friend of my husband."

"A guy calling to chat with another man's wife could send the wrong kind of message," Oliver remarked. He would have been lying if he claimed that he was not concerned about the situation, but he trusted Dinah. That did not mean that he was going to just sit back and wait for something to happen though.

"I'll explain that we are just friends. He knows quite a bit about me, though I've neglected to tell him how we met. That's not something that I'm comfortable talking to him about at the moment."

"Understandable," Oliver commented, easily deciphering the meaning behind her words. He knew about her secret identity but did not know about the identities of anyone else on his team. "Maybe I'll look you up next time I'm in the neighborhood."

"That sounds nice. I'll see you around Oliver."

"Same to you, Laurel."

With that, the phone call came to an end.

Immediately after hanging the phone up, Oliver made another phone call.

"Hey Chloe, I need you to look into something for me," he said as soon as the phone call was answered.

Though he trusted Dinah a great deal, he had to be sure that the guy that she had gotten herself involved with was not going to cause problems.

* * *

Author Notes: I must have had more difficulties with this one chapter than I have with either of the first two, though I did write the first two back-to-back while this one was started around the time time I posted the second chapter. It's not a great chapter and is partially filler, but it's a stepping stone and hints at some of my plans. It's the time of chapter that doesn't seem like it's important, but if I took it out, it would be noticeable later on down the road.

My goal for this story is to shoot for weekly chapters. Not that I'm opposed to updating a bit more frequently than that. I am having some difficulties though, so I would not expect them to be anymore frequently than that. The biggest issue with starting the story at the point that I did is that Dinah isn't a major character in the story and the League did not appear to be very active between June of 2008 (when the League went into hiding after the identities of Black Canary and Aquaman were uncovered) and September of 2009 (when the League made plans to deal with Doomsday). As such, I'm having to improvise more than I would have to if he was paired with a more prominent character. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing. I just want to make it clear why I can't just pump chapters of this story out.

Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


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